Overview

A study of the material culture of Egypt during the period of Achaemenid Persian rule, c. 526-404 BCE Provides a clear overview of the archaeological evidence for Achaemenid Egypt, including temples, tombs, irrigation works, statues, stelae, seals and coinsDemonstrates how different types of evidence, both textual and archaeological - including material of uncertain provenance - can be used to address a single historical questionOffers critical discussion of the dating criteria used by archaeologists for Egyptian Late Period materialElucidates strategies used by the Persians to establish and maintain control of EgyptExamines how these strategies may have affected the lives of people living in Egypt during the 27th DynastyCreates a new explanatory model for the introduction of coinage to ancient Egypt Previous studies have characterised Achaemenid rule of Egypt either as ephemeral and weak or oppressive and harsh. These characterisations, however, are based on the perceived lack of evidence for this period, filtered through ancient and modern preconceptions about the Persians. Henry Colburn challenges these views by assembling and analyzing the archaeological remains from this period, including temples, tombs, irrigation works, statues, stelae, sealings, drinking vessels and coins. By looking at the decisions made about material culture - by Egyptians, Persians and others - it becomes possible to see both how the Persians integrated Egypt into their empire and the full range of experiences people had as a result.

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9781474452373

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Reviews

"It will be widely read by students of Achaemenid Egypt, of the Achaemenid empire in general (which as a discipline as well as a historical reality is nothing if not the assemblage of its diverse parts), and of the wider world of later pre-Hellenistic history.--Journal of the American Oriental Society ""Christopher J. Tuplin"" This accessible new academic treatment sets out to challenge the prejudices of earlier commentators (starting with the ancient Greeks), and illustrates very effectively the ways in which scholarship is as prone to bias as any other aspect of human activity.--Campbell Price ""Ancient Egypt Magazine"" Written lucidly for a broad readership, Colburn's book masterfully recovers a critical era of Egyptian history until now muted by traditional hegemonies of periodization. This is a must-read for Egyptologists, Classicists, and Achaemenid studies specialists, as well as for empire theorists and art historians/archaeologists concerned with projections of identity in the cross-hairs of globalization.-- ""Margaret Cool Root, University of Michigan"""

Author Information

Henry P. Colburn, Lecturer in Art History, University of Southern California.

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